VirtualBox - Seamless Mode With Windows and Linux Sharing Same Desktop

Posted on December 25, 2007 by nseidm1.
Categories: Server, Windows, desktop, linux, seamless, virtualbox.

VirtualBox seamless mode places the Windows taskbar above your Gnome or KDE taskbar. The Windows desktop is not displayed. When you open a Firefox or Internet Explorer web browser, from the Windows taskbar and save a file from a website, it will save to the Windows desktop. To compensate you can allow Windows to share the exact same desktop as your host Linux OS. You can save files from Windows web browsers directly to the shared Linux desktop.

Essential this is taking seamless a step further!!

First enable VirtualBox shared folder support for your desired guest OS. Make the shared folder either your Linux desktop directly, or simply your home directory. Then mount the shared folder in the guest OS:

net use x: \\vboxsvr\Desktop

Then open regedit. Locate the key:

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\User Shell Folders]

Change the desktop key to:

1) x: ; if you set the shared folder to be your Linux desktop folder

2) x:\Desktop ; if you set the shared folder to be your Linux home folder

Now just reboot your Windows guest OS and observe the seamless consolidation of your Windows and Linux desktops!!

This is one of my favorite Linux tweaks :)

Desktop screenshot of WIndows, Linux, and Linux Server

On my system notice that a virtual server environment is running in the top right window. That is the actual server environment that is hosting this website.

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4 comments.

Rootman
Comment on January 28th, 2008.

This is most ex cellant, is it possible to run it just the OPPOSITE? That is, Linux seamlessly on the Windows desktop? Those of us stuck in Windows want to know.

Comment on January 28th, 2008.

Seamless mode on Windows a Windows host.

tcw
Comment on May 12th, 2008.

1-word for you Rootman…
coLinux. andLinux does exactly that.

munka
Comment on May 24th, 2008.

Howdy,
thanks for the great tweak, improving the virtual experience.
You may want to check the screenshot link, it fails to load “contains errors”
Again thankyou.

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